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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23686792">Splitting the Atom</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/aimeewrites/pseuds/aimeewrites'>aimeewrites</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Who, Doctor Who &amp; Related Fandoms, Scott &amp; Bailey, UNIT: the New Series (Big Finish Audio)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:55:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,789</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23686792</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/aimeewrites/pseuds/aimeewrites</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>UNIT has a case to solve which leads them to Manchester<br/>Detective Sergeant Rachel Bailey has never met anyone like Kate Stewart - sparks are going to fly</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kate Lethbridge-Stewart/ Rachel Bailey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>UNIT Headquarters, Tower of London</strong>
</p><p>« No, Minister, I can assure you there’s no cause for concern. We have identified the nuclear radiations you mentioned and are tracing their source, and we have it in hand. Yes, of course, Minister. I will…”</p><p>Kate Stewart stared at the phone in her hand, unwilling to admit that the Ministry of Defence had hung up on her. Bloody woman! Kate Stewart was all for having women in the higher positions of power, but hated it when it got to their heads. She also hated lying – yes, they had identified nuclear radiations, but they had no idea where they were coming from, or what was producing them, whether human or alien. Actually, those radiation were the reason why there were deep bluish circles under her eyes and why she had spent three days and three nights in her office without coming up for air, and why she was beginning to feel claustrophobic. Even thought Osgood had replicated a window opening on Hyde Park for her office, Kate’s mind still knew she was underground. Maybe she should go and get some air, before her neurons asphyxiated completely. She took a sip of the lukewarm coffee in her mug, grimaced and ran a weary hand through her blonde hair before paging Osgood. Five minutes later, the scientist was at the door.</p><p>“Osgood – I just had a call from the Minister – yes, that one. She’s not amused. Actually, she wanted to know if we’d made any progress on that radiations business. I told her we had, but…”</p><p>“But we haven’t.”</p><p>Kate sighed again – she could always count on Osgood to be on the pessimistic side of realistic.</p><p>“Really? Not at all?”</p><p>“Well…”</p><p>Osgood pulled her inhaler out of her pocket and took a deep breath. She hated to disappoint her boss. She thought for a minute or two and brightened: “Actually, that’s not quite true. We have managed to pinpoint the source of the radiations, but we don’t exactly know what’s causing it.”</p><p>“You have! Why didn’t you tell me, Osgood?”</p><p>“Well – I just did.”</p><p>Kate gritted her teeth, knowing the scientist didn’t do well under pressure. “So – where?”</p><p>“Are you familiar with atom splitting, Ma’am?”</p><p>“I know it has been done…By Ernest Rutherford, some time in the beginning of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, if I’m not mistaken. But you know nuclear physics isn’t my speciality, and I really don’t have time for guessing games. I’m sorry you had to miss your weekly quiz night last week, but…”</p><p>Osgood was now displaying a small self-satisfied grin, as if Kate was her pupil and had just given the right answer. “You’re right, Ma’am- and he did that… in Manchester. We traced the origin of the radiation to the university where he did his experiments. Only the building has now been converted into a library…There’s nothing in it that could explain the radiations.”</p><p>“Right…”</p><p>Just then, Kate’s computer screen lit up in green. She’d always thought it should be in red for major incidents, but she usually had other fish to fry than grumble about it to the tech team. She clicked to read the message and furrowed her brow. “We have a problem. This radiation thing has just gone a whole lot bigger. There has been a number of unexplained deaths in the Manchester area during the last twenty-four hours.”</p><p>She sighed – instead of finally going home and have a long shower – maybe even a very long bath, she would spend the night in a car… Her back would not thank her.</p><p>“Go and get your bag, Osgood – we’re leaving in fifteen minutes.”</p><p>While the brunette went to get the bag all UNIT officers kept ready in case of unexpected missions like that one, Kate opened her office closet and began to fold the navy blue jacket hanging inside. She much preferred travelling in a more relaxed outfit but she would have to appear professional once in Manchester. She put the jacket on the top of the clothes already in her small suitcase, slipped a jumper on and went to rinse out her nearly empty coffee cup in the small adjacent loo. Then, before switching her computer off, she quickly sought the number she needed and made a phone call.</p><p>
  <strong>Manchester Syndicate Nine, Major Incident Team headquarters.</strong>
</p><p>When the phone rang, DCI Gill Murray had been intending to go home, thankful that for the first time in nearly a week she would manage to get there before 10pm. She almost let it ring, thinking that if it was important, people would reach her on her mobile but her sense of duty won against her exhaustion.</p><p>“DCI Murray… Kate! It’s been a while. How are you? …Yes – yes, of course, fine…What? No, I haven’t been informed…Yes, I know you’re supposed to be… All right – when will you be here?... Okay then – see you tomorrow at seven. Ta ta.”</p><p>During her drive back home, Gill Murray pondered on that call. She hadn’t heard from Kate Stewart in years… They’d met…Well, almost fifteen years ago, at a forensics conference they’d both been attending. She had spied a few rows from her a tall blonde woman, about her age, who seemed to sigh almost as loudly as she did – that is, not loudly enough to appear rude, but loudly enough to be noticed. They had sympathised over the fact that they both found the presentations deadly boring – pun intended – and that it was all old hat to both of them. Gill remembered those two days fondly enough, though – they’d spent a lot of time chatting over drinks and had enjoyed the excellent food at the hotel restaurant. They had discovered they had both married quite young, both of them had boys – one for Gill, two for Kate, and that neither of them had managed to keep their husbands from straying. Since the conference – well, although they had exchanged phone numbers, they hadn’t really kept in touch, both having crazy jobs, and bumpy personal lives – well, hers was, but somehow she wouldn’t be surprised if Kate’s had been as well. Gill was fuming at the information Kate had given her, though – you would think that being at the head of Manchester’s Major Incident Team would ensure she knew about any suspicious death, but apparently, it did not, and Ms Stewart was better informed than she was.</p><p>Once home, Gill poured herself a large glass of claret and sent a text to her DS: “Tomorrow meeting at 8am sharp. Don’t be late. Gill”</p><p>
  <strong>On the M1 towards Manchester</strong>
</p><p>Kate had almost decided she would drive them but reason had taken over and she’d asked Josh Carter, who was still in the office, if he wouldn’t mind. Osgood had already asked her if she could take a nap on the way and Kate had nodded distractedly, knowing that even though she more than needed to sleep, she would not be able to nod off. They should be at their hotel around midnight and maybe there she could take a pill, for if she didn’t get any sleep at all, she would be a wreck the next day. It would be strange to see Gill again. They hadn’t really kept in touch, and Kate was aware it was her own fault rather than Gill’s. This did not sit well with her. It reminded her too much of a pervading loneliness she tried to fend off with work. As much as she told herself she did not need friends, because she had her colleagues and they were a team, a good team… Sometimes she wished she had something else beside work. Gill had told her she would help in this case as much as she could, and also relieve her detective sergeant of her other duties. Someone called Rachel Bailey – apparently she was a brilliant young detective. And hopefully, between the four of them, they would be able to solve the radiation problem and put the Minister of Defence’s mind at rest – and get some rest eventually! Gill had sounded as exhausted as herself on the phone.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>On the M1 towards Manchester</strong>
</p><p>Kate had almost decided she would drive them but reason had taken over and she’d asked Josh Carter, who was still in the office, if he wouldn’t mind. Osgood had already asked her if she could take a nap on the way and Kate had nodded distractedly, knowing that even though she more than needed to sleep, she would not be able to nod off. They should be at their hotel around midnight and maybe there she could take a pill, for if she didn’t get any sleep at all, she would be a wreck the next day. It would be strange to see Gill again. They hadn’t really kept in touch, and Kate was aware it was her own fault rather than Gill’s. This did not sit well with her. It reminded her too much of a pervading loneliness she tried to fend off with work. As much as she told herself she did not need friends, because she had her colleagues and they were a team, a good team… Sometimes she wished she had something else beside work. Gill had told her she would help in this case as much as she could, and also relieve her detective sergeant of her other duties. Someone called Rachel Bailey – apparently she was a brilliant young detective. And hopefully, between the four of them, they would be able to solve the radiation problem and put the Minister of Defence’s mind at rest – and get some rest eventually! Gill had sounded as exhausted as herself on the phone.</p><p>They arrived at the Premier Inn Central at 11pm, an ugly orange eyesore and were informed that the restaurant would be closing in ten minutes. Although Osgood seemed to have found a second wind after her catnap in the car and declared she would go on working in her room, Kate decided she was too exhausted to go on communicating with anyone, even thought she told Osgood she could phone her – but only relating to matters of immediate life and death. Josh decided to go out and see if he could find a bar and when he asked his boss if she wanted to come, he was rewarded by a stifled yawn and a headshake. Kate’s hand shook with tiredness and she had to try three times before she inserted the card into the slit properly and finally gained access to her room. Said room was – uninspiring – and she was glad she always carried a pair of socks in her overnight bag – the brown carpet didn’t really inspire confidence. But the bed looked inviting. She wanted nothing more than to crash down on it but she knew that if she didn’t get something to eat, she would wake up in the early morning hours and be famished and cranky the next morning. She wasn’t even hungry anymore – exhaustion had taken other – but as she perused the room service menu, her stomach reminded her it hadn’t received any sustenance other than two custard creams since the previous evening. She decided she had earned a treat, and settled on the soup of the day followed by the “chocolate fudge sensation cake”. She looked at the wine list – if you could call that a wine list – and grimaced. She wasn’t in the mood for a glass of cheap “house wine” – she would just make do with tea.</p><p>While she was waiting for the food, she took a long hot shower and tried to wash out her worries. No such luck. However much she wanted to stop her brain from thinking, she just couldn’t. Especially with the new intel she had received during the drive. The number of deaths hadn’t grown in the last few hours, which was something, but there had been reports of people behaving strangely. For example, several cases of Mancunians speaking in verse or in old English. Hospitals had reported cases of bubonic fevers, polio and smallpox – diseases that had been eradicated in England for a long time. Nothing made sense, and Kate hated it when nothing made sense. Her stomach growled, reminding her her dinner would be there soon and she finally got out of the shower.</p><p>Of course, the food somehow revived her brain and she found it impossible to fall asleep. She finally popped one of those special pills all UNIT personnel carried – they guaranteed five hours’ sleep without the hangover effect of most sleeping drugs in the morning.</p><p>Indeed, when she woke up at 6am, Kate was almost immediately functional. Casting a regretful look towards her more relaxed attire of the previous day, she put on a crisp white shirt and her dark blue trouser suit, with just enough make-up to give the appearance of not being too sleep-deprived. A little bleary-eyed, she went to join Josh and Osgood for breakfast and noted that they looked much fresher than they did – the privilege of youth… After lukewarm coffee and soggy croissants, she sent Josh back to London to await orders and set forth with Osgood to the MIT headquarters.</p><p>
  <strong>MIT headquarters</strong>
</p><p>Gill Murray was waiting for Kate in her office. Not that the latter was late, but Gill always had to be a little early – ever the consummate professional. Rachel Bailey, however, was not there, and she was definitely late. Gill wanted to brief her before Kate’s arrival and since Kate was due in ten…</p><p>When someone knocked at the door, she barked “Enter” and without lifting her head from the papers she was perusing, added “Do you ever consider being on time? How many times do I have to tell you to clean up your act? Do you think you’ll ever make sergeant like that?”</p><p>“I’m sorry, Ma’am – won’t do it again, I promise…”</p><p>Gill looked up straight into Kate’s amused eyes. The latter was trying very hard to contain her laughter.</p><p>“Sorry, Gill – couldn’t resist – it’s nice to see you again. And this is my chief scientist, Osgood.”</p><p>Gill got up to hug Kate and to shake hands with Osgood, who immediately asked if she could have access to a computer. Gill led her to one of the vacant work stations and came back to Kate, closing the office door back behind her.</p><p>“So … How are you, Kate? Coffee?” asked Gill as Kate sank into a chair.</p><p>“Fine and yes, please – what we had at breakfast was more like hot coffee-flavoured water.”</p><p>“Coming right up – so – tell me all you know.”</p><p>“Shouldn’t we wait for your DC?”</p><p>Gill grimaced: “She should be here by now. You’d better tell me and I’ll brief her afterwards.”</p><p>As Kate was recounting what she knew, Rachel Bailey burst into the office. She began to babble an apology but fell silent when she saw Gill’s deadly glare. Kate eyed the younger woman with interest – so this was the very promising young detective who was supposed to help her. The woman was certainly attractive, although she looked as she had slept in her clothes and might be suffering from a hangover. Gill introduced her and Kate asked for a paper board to outline the radiation situation.</p><p>“… So …Osgood is working on finding out the origin of the radiation. Considering what we already know, there are several possibilities. The first one is that a lab somewhere is leaking – highly improbable since we would have discovered said lab already. The second one is that the radiation is not just nuclear but of alien origin. The last one …Well, I won’t go into detail right now, but the last one maybe just be the worst one, and we might need more help.”</p><p>She turned from the board and finally noticed Rachel’s face. The brunette looked as if she wanted to throw her in the nearest lunatic asylum. Gill noticed her DC’s face too and sighed before addressing her: “See – that’s why I needed you to be on time this morning. To update you about what Ms Stewart’s department dealt with. So she wouldn’t think my detectives are complete nitwits. This is exactly why she’s here in the first place – because we can’t deal with this alone.”</p><p>“But, boss – aliens? Like – little green men…”</p><p>“Usually not green and very rarely little either” replied Kate drily. “But yes – aliens as in – not from planet Earth.”</p><p>Seeing that the younger woman didn’t look utterly convinced, she went on: “Tell you what – we need to go and see the scene – Osgood will tell you a little about what we usually deal with – with pictures – on the way. Is that okay with you, Gill – can I steal her?”</p><p>“Of course, Kate – Rachel – you’re going with Ms Stewart. And please mind your Ps and Qs – you represent the MIT in this investigation.”</p><p>“Boss.” Rachel still didn’t look overjoyed but Kate chose to attribute her lack of enthusiasm to the relatively early hour and to what she thought had been a boozy night. She really hoped Gill hadn’t saddled her with a surly detective. She really didn’t need that.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Walking behind Kate and Osgood toward their rented car, Rachel Bailey tried to take stock of her current situation. Fact: Godzilla was mad at her – nothing new there. She’s been with the MIT for a year and it felt like there hadn’t been one single month during which Gill Murray hadn’t bollocked her. Fact: she was now alien-hunting with a hotshot from London, who looked every bit as much of a martinet as Godzilla. As Ms Stewart took the wheel, the other one – Osgood – no first name provided – motioned for her to join her on the back seat. She obeyed reluctantly, knowing that her hangover would be worse if she didn’t ride in the front.</p><p>By the time they alighted in front of the library, Rachel felt indeed even more nauseous – mostly because Osgood had shown her a few pics of “their” aliens… The tin-men – cyber-something – weren’t too bad, but some of the others… The reptilian species…</p><p>Ms Stewart turned towards her and she snapped to attention – only figuratively, but somehow she had the feeling the blonde wouldn’t have minded a salute.</p><p>“Right, DC Bailey – you’re going to interview the staff while we explore the building and try to find the source of the radiation. Ask if they’ve noticed anything unusual lately, etc – I’m sure you know the drill.”</p><p>“Yes, Ma’am.”</p><p>Of course she bloody knew her job!</p><p>Leaving the detective behind, Kate and Osgood followed their radiation detector to the source of the signal. They found it easily enough – one of the rooms made the detector go berserk.</p><p>“19<sup>th</sup> century literature” read Kate…</p><p>They went inside and except for two people reading quietly, the room was empty and looked perfectly ordinary. Rows of leather-bound books and newer editions of the classics. Kate went to one of the shelves and took out one of the leather-bound volumes: “Hmm- first edition…It’s a wonder they don’t keep those under lock and key.” Turning towards Osgood, she added: “One of my favourites – North and South…“Loyalty and obedience to wisdom and justice are fine; but it is still finer to defy arbitrary power, unjustly and cruelly used--not on behalf of ourselves, but on behalf of others more helpless.”</p><p>“True – that’s what you do every day, Ma’am.”</p><p>“What we do, Osgood – and right now… Wait! That’s it – I’ve got it!”</p><p>“Kate?”</p><p>“I know what’s wrong – it’s the books!”</p><p>Seeing that Osgood looked at her as if she had gone mad, Kate explained further: “The books – the language – so many deaths – five in North and South – and tuberculosis – illnesses! Those people are living what they have read. The books have been tainted by the radiation and…”</p><p>“You’re a genius, Ma’am!”</p><p>Kate chewed on her lower lip – her tell in times of stress – and sighed: “I’m not – just logic. But I don’t like it. Somehow this seems too clever for our “usual” aliens.”</p><p>“I agree – do you think…”</p><p>They both said it together: “The Master.”</p><p>Kate sighed again and tried to make plans: “First thing we have to do is confirm that hypothesis – we have to interview all the victims – the ones who’re still alive – and see if they came here and borrowed or read books. Let’s hope we can count on Miss Bailey.”</p><p>When they got back to the main room, they couldn’t find the detective anywhere. They finally discovered her outside, on her phone, smoking. Kate was not impressed. Too polite to interrupt a conversation, she waited until the younger woman had finished talking before hailing her.</p><p>“Finished with the interviews, Detective?”</p><p>Rachel swallowed hard and shrugged: “Yes – basically, no one noticed anything.”</p><p>“Right – as I expected, really. Any idea where one can get decent coffee around here? I think we can all do with one, and I need to explain what we’re going to do next.”</p><p>Once they were sitting in a generic Costa, Rachel excused herself to make another phone call and came back even paler than before. However, when Kate asked her if anything was wrong, she nearly bit her head off before reddening and falling silent. Not wanting to antagonise the younger woman, Kate decided not to push the issue and started explaining her strategy.</p><p>------------------</p><p>They were reconvened at Kate and Osgood’s hotel at 7pm. Rachel had taken the time to go home and change her clothes in the hope of appearing a little more professional to the London team. Her day had gone from bad to worse to terrible. What worried her was more her reaction to what had happened than the news she had had. The first call had come from Manchester General Hospital, telling her her mother had been admitted with acute liver failure. When she had called her sister, she had been told in no uncertain terms that there was no way Alison would go and see their mother and they had argued quite violently. But it was more a matter of principles – she just thought Alison should go, otherwise she might regret it. She did not actually feel anything for her mother, and it didn’t sit well with her. Had she so perfected the impassive policewoman act that she didn’t feel anything anymore? Probably not, because she could still feel pain – Nick’s betrayal had hurt deeply. But with her mother’s life in danger, it was different – she didn’t care.</p><p>She told herself she would go to the dinner meeting with Kate and Osgood and call the hospital again afterwards. Meanwhile, her afternoon had been quite successful for the investigation – Rachel had to admit Kate’s theory had been brilliant, and even if she didn’t quite see the link between alien radiation – or not alien but not earthen either – and what had happened to the people, she could confirm that all the people she had visited had been to the library and had read 19<sup>th</sup> century novels. Which was pretty great, because she really wanted to impress the blonde. Not only because the latter was sure to report to Gill. It had become more personal. Rachel had known for a while she was attracted to intelligent and powerful women – she had even had a slight crush on Godzilla when she had first joined the MIT – but she had never fallen quite so fast for anyone. Oh well – Ms Stewart would soon go back to London…And she wouldn’t be interested in Rachel anyway. Basically – Rachel was a nobody – and a mess – the complete opposite of the magnetic and put-together Ms Stewart.</p><p>As she arrived at the hotel, she tried to call the hospital again but couldn’t reach anyone. She took a deep breath and decided to focus only on the investigation – not on her mum, nor on how good Ms Stewart looked in more relaxed clothes, with tousled hair that must mean she had taken a shower…Rachel let her mind dwell for about two seconds on said shower before squaring her shoulders and going inside.</p><p>---------</p><p>Kate had decided a work dinner would help putting the detective at ease and save time. As Rachel Bailey approached the table, Kate saw that she had changed and thought that the brunette cleaned up rather well, even if she still looked preoccupied with something. The chief of UNIT had begun to think that she might have been too hard on the younger woman. A few sharp remarks had probably made the detective think she was a dragon, but when she was tired and worried, she found it more difficult to control her tongue. Actually, she could see what Gill Murray saw in Rachel Bailey – the young woman was quick-witted, even if a little rough around the edges. They all ordered some food and Kate chose a bottle of wine, deciding that they were on/off duty. She had been able to get the library to close for the moment, which would hopefully limit the number of future victims, although hundreds of people had borrowed books and were at risk. She had considered making a public announcement on tv, but she thought it would cause unnecessary panic. If this was the Master’s latest stunt…Well, they didn’t even need to know why he’d done it – it wouldn’t be the first time he had caused untold trouble just for the fun of it. They just needed to find a way to stop it, but although Osgood had been working all afternoon with books from the library and her computer, she hadn’t yet found a solution. Kate really didn’t want to have to call in the Doctor…She really, really didn’t like to ask for help.</p><p>During the meal, Kate tried to ask Rachel a few questions about herself but her attempts were rebuffed. The brunette was ready enough to talk about her first years in the police but wouldn’t say anything about her private life, and Kate respected her for it. It wasn’t like she told people much about herself either. It had taken years before her father’s name had leaked and people at UNIT had realised she was the Brig’s daughter. Nor did she ever talk about the father of her sons. It wasn’t like she had time for a private life anyway – although she did have pangs of loneliness.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rachel’s phone rang as they were discussing the investigation and she excused herself to take it. She wasn’t absent more than five minutes, but when she came back to the table, she was deadly pale and looked as she might faint.</p><p>“Are you all right, DC Bailey?”</p><p>“Fine! Just quit it!” replied Rachel through gritted teeth. She was desperately trying to get a grip on her emotions and she couldn’t do that and be polite at the same time. Kate finally had enough. Tired and worried about the state of the enquiry, which was advancing at a snail’s pace, she finally snapped too. “All right – let’s call it a day – I think we’ll stop now. Osgood – try not to spend the whole evening on your computer, will you? You’re already doing your very best, and you can’t do more than that. Get some sleep, watch a little tv – try and relax and I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”</p><p>“Thank you, Ma’am – good night.”</p><p>“Good night, Osgood. DC Bailey – could I have a word outside?”</p><p>Rachel nodded sullenly as the three women got up, but followed Kate in the small hotel courtyard, deserted in the icy evening.</p><p>“Sit.”</p><p>“I’m not a dog, <em>Ma’am</em>,” replied Rachel, pronouncing the last word as ironically as she could.</p><p>“Very well – I’ll sit, then.” Kate perched on the edge of one of the picnic tables and took a deep breath before going on: “Look – Rachel – can I call you Rachel? I need to apologise – I… I was probably harder on you than I should have been. I’m so used to what we do at UNIT – the kind of things we deal with that – I forget it can seem outlandish to most people. I can’t say I love your attitude but – well, I accept my part of responsibility. And…” Rachel tried to speak but Kate held up her hand to stop her: “Please let me finish – I know something is bothering you and – well, I’ve been told I could be a sympathetic listener, so… If I can help…” She fell silent and stared at the ground. Kate Stewart never liked to apologise but she was intelligent enough to know that sometimes it was necessary. What would the younger woman do? Kate looked up at Rachel who’d taken a cigarette out and was folding and unfolding it with her fingers. Finally, the brunette spoke:</p><p>“I’m sorry too, Ms Stewart. I…Well, you’re not the first person to tell me I’m – a fucking mess. I’m – broken. And…You’re right – I’ve had some bad news today, although it’s not an excuse. My…” Rachel took a deep breath – was she really going to talk about that to a virtual stranger? “My mother died today,” she added in a smaller voice. “It’s not – I mean – she left when I was a kid so …But …Oh, fuck!” She sat down heavily on one of the benches and buried her face in her hands.</p><p>Kate got up and put her arms around the now sobbing Rachel. Of everything she had thought of… That wasn’t it – she had thought of a love story gone bad, certainly not of something as major as a parent’s death. But actually – when she had learnt that her own father had died – actually, when she had learnt of her own mother’s death too – she had gone on working both days, so why would the young woman be any different. She sat down next to Rachel and held her, caressing her hair:” Shush – it’s all right – don’t worry – just cry it out – it’s all right.” Rachel buried her head in Kate’s jumper and cried, not for the death of her mother – she had been dead to her long before that, but for her childhood and for broken ties that would never be mended. When Kate sensed Rachel was calming down, she handed her a tissue and released her hold. “There – you’ll be all right now.”</p><p>Kate was feeling quite helpless and that wasn’t a feeling she was accustomed to, nor one she liked. Her sons had been the macho kind, and except for some rare occurrences when they were very young, they really hadn’t be ones for tears. And then – well, her reputation at UNIT had somehow preserved her from her staff’s meltdowns. All in all, it had been a very long time since anyone had cried on her shoulder – probably not since university, and that meant … About thirty years previously.</p><p>Rachel took a deep breath – or as deep as she could, her face buried in the tissue and looked at Kate with teary, red-rimmed eyes. “Thank you – I’m sorry – for…That…I don’t usually…” Well, not in public anyway – or …Fuck, not with anyone other than Janet. What a way to behave with a woman she found extremely impressive… And then, like a little girl, she found herself begging: “You won’t tell God- Gill, will you?”</p><p>“Cross my heart and hope to die! Well – not yet, hopefully, but – no, I won’t tell her,” promised Kate. That was a good sign – if the young detective was worried about her reputation, it meant she was feeling better. “Let me call you a cab – have a good sleep, and if you need tomorrow off – don’t worry, we’ll…”</p><p>“I don’t”, said Rachel urgently. “Please don’t take me off the case – I don’t need time off- really.”</p><p>“Hmm – all right then – see you tomorrow here at 7, then.”</p><p>Rachel groaned and Kate laughed: “Well – you’re the one who said you didn’t need mollycoddling, detective.”</p><p> </p><p>The next morning, Rachel had a splitting headache and Kate was not much better. The latter had spent all night thinking alternatively of her parents’ deaths, the young DC and the library radiation. By morning, she had a solution to the hardest problem, but the easiest one – actually, the one that shouldn’t be a problem at all, Rachel Bailey – still plagued her. Feeling the brunette’s body leaning against her had awaken long lost sensations and although she chastised herself and knew she was stark raving mad, those sensations didn’t want to go away. It had been too long, thought Kate – too long since anyone had shared her bed, her life and her heart. That and the lack of sleep were surely the only reasons why she wanted to invite Rachel Bailey for a drink. Or for diner – just the two of them. But they didn’t have time for that.</p><p>Two days later, Kate and Osgood were on the train back to London – Kate’s brainwave had worked and Osgood had found a way to implement it – the idea was rather simple – instead of trying to stop the radiation altogether, they had managed to reverse it. And her idea had come from something Rachel had said – “I’m broken”. Broken pieces – broken things – can they be put together…And the idea – the radiation that split the atoms from the books and mixed them with the readers’ atoms would instead put them together. When they’d said goodbye to Gill and Rachel, Kate had gone to shake Rachel’s hand, but the brunette had gone for a hug instead – for one brief moment, she had smelled the young woman’s scent, mixed with coffee and cigarettes, and she had allowed herself to mellow into the hug.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Epilogue</h2></a>
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    <p>Five months later, DS Rachel Bailey held a piece of paper in one hand and her phone in the other. Now that she was a sergeant, surely she could… And after all, she was in London for two months for that long-awaited training session, so …She should try – she took a deep breath and entered the number Gill Murray had given her: “Ms Stewart? Rachel here- Rachel Bailey – I don’t know if you remember me….Oh – oh yes – of course …Well, I’m in London and I was wondering if you’d like to go for a drink?”</p><p>The drink segued into dinner at an Italian restaurant near the Tower – Kate had said that after all, they both needed to it. By that time, they were on first names terms. What neither of them had planned – or at least neither of them had thought in the realm of possibilities – was that they would end up with a goodnight kiss… And that they would have dinner again two days after, this time at Kate’s. And that at the end of Rachel’s training, she would think very seriously about moving to London. Because long-distance relationships were not her thing. </p>
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